AAPM/SNMMI Joint Task Force: report on the current state of nuclear medicine physics training.

The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) and the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) recognized the need for a review of the current state of nuclear  medicine physics training and the need to explore pathways for improving nuclear medicine physics training opportunities. For these reasons, the two organizations formed a joint AAPM/SNMMI Ad Hoc Task Force on Nuclear Medicine Physics  Training. The mission of this task force was to assemble a representative group of stakeholders to:• Estimate the demand for board-certified nuclear medicine physicists in the next 5-10 years,• Identify the critical issues related to supplying an adequate number of physicists who have received the appropriate level of training in nuclear medicine physics, and• Identify approaches that may be considered to facilitate the training of nuclear medicine physicists.

AAPM/RSNA physics tutorial for residents: physics of flat-panel fluoroscopy systems: Survey of modern fluoroscopy imaging: flat-panel detectors versus image intensifiers and more.

This article reviews the design and operation of both flat-panel detector (FPD) and image intensifier fluoroscopy systems. The different components of each imaging chain and their functions are explained and compared. FPD systems have multiple advantages such as a smaller size, extended dynamic range, no spatial distortion, and greater stability.

Overview of patient dosimetry in diagnostic radiology in the USA for the past 50 years.

This review covers the role of medical physics in addressing issues directly related to patient dosimetry in radiography, fluoroscopy, mammography, and CT. The sections on radiography and fluoroscopy radiation doses review the changes that have occurred during the last 50 to 60 years. A number of technological improvements have contributed to both a significant reduction in patient and staff radiation doses and improvements to the image quality during this period of time.

Radiation dose descriptors: BERT, COD, DAP, and other strange creatures.

Over the years, a number of terms have been used to describe radiation dose. Eight common radiation dose descriptors include background equivalent radiation time (BERT), critical organ dose (COD), surface absorbed dose (SAD), dose area product (DAP), diagnostic acceptable reference level (DARLing), effective dose (ED), fetal absorbed dose (FAD), and total imparted energy (TIE). BERT is compared to the annual natural background radiation (about 3 mSv per year) and is easily understandable for the general public.

Influence of flat-panel fluoroscopic equipment variables on cardiac radiation doses.

Purpose: To assess the influence of physician-selectable equipment variables on the potential radiation dose reductions during cardiac catheterization examinations using modern imaging equipment.

Materials: A modern bi-plane angiography unit with flat-panel image receptors was used. Patients were simulated with 15-30 cm of acrylic plastic.

Quality control for digital mammography in the ACRIN DMIST trial: part I.

The Digital Mammography Imaging Screening Trial, conducted by the American College of Radiology Imaging Network, is a clinical trial designed to compare the accuracy of full-field digital mammography (FFDM) versus screen-film mammography in a screening population. Five FFDM systems from four manufacturers (Fischer, Fuji, General Electric, and Lorad) were employed in the study at 35 clinical sites. A core physics team devised and implemented tests to evaluate these systems.

New automated fluoroscopic systems for pediatric applications.

Pediatric patients are at higher risk to the adverse effects from exposure to ionizing radiation than adults. The smaller sizes of the anatomy and the reduced X-ray attenuation of the tissues provide special challenges. The goal of this effort is to investigate strategies for pediatric fluoroscopy in order to minimize the radiation exposure to these individuals, while maintaining effective diagnostic image quality.

Influence of phantom diameter, kVp and scan mode upon computed tomography dose index.

The computed tomography (CT) radiation dose to pediatric patients has received considerable attention recently. Moreover, it is important to be able to determine CT radiation doses for various patient sizes ranging from infants to large adults. The current AAPM protocol only measures CT radiation dose using a 16 cm acrylic phantom to represent an adult head and a 32 cm acrylic phantom to represent an adult body.

Pediatric high KV/filtered airway radiographs: comparison of CR and film-screen systems.

The imaging of pediatric airways presents a challenge because of the superimposition of the airway over the bone of the spine on the AP view. In recent years, some radiology departments have replaced conventional X-ray films by computed radiography (CR). The effect of the various changes upon image quality and radiation doses has not been clearly demonstrated.